KATHRYN BACHEN INDUSTRIAL DESIGN K AT H R Y N . B A C H E N @ G M A I L . C O M 206|898|4819
I have always been fascinated by people and culture. Through my degree and work in photojournalism I was able to explore this passion and develop skills in speaking with people and identifying problems. I soon found that I felt frustrated in merely documenting the problems that I came across and not directly contributing to their solutions. Through Industrial Design I am able to not only explore my passion for people and express my creativity, most importantly, I am able to make a difference in everyday lives.
CONTENTS 1
WAGON TRAIN
2
HEEL HOLSTER
3
PHOTOGRAPHY
4 preva plus
SKIP
5
PLYWOOD WAGON TRAIN Two-week project | Competition
OBJECTIVE
In an annual design competition, students were challenged with designing and building a piece of furniture that accommodated the needs of a local organization using a 4”x4”, 3/4” sheet of plywood.
PROBLEM Western Washington University Speech-Hearing-Language Clinic Needed a means to move children’s therapy tools from the storage closet to the therapy rooms.
THERAPISTS HAD TO BEND OVER AND SLIDE LARGE ITEMS (LIKE THE SENSORY BIN) DOWN THE HALL TO MOVE THEM.
Therapists requested a toy that could engage multiple children for their summer group sessions. REPETITION OF THIS ACTION CAUSED DISCOMFORT AND PAIN.
Clinic’s sensory bin, a frequently used tool
Based on the needs of the clinic, how can a design incorporate Utility and play?
IDEATION
Using “The Measure of Man and Woman” by Henry Dreyfuss Associates, the minimum dimensions for a wagon was established so that a child between three and six years-old could sit in it and be able to get in and out of it.
Research + Development Combining the material restrictions and ergonomic factors, 1/4 scale models were developed out of foam core. The chosen design’s pattern was then fit onto the sheet material to be cut out.
ASSEMBLY
CNCing pieces from plywood sheet.
Sanding and finishing.
Assembly of cars.
Pull received First Place and a scholarship
PULL Wagon cars were built by layering the pieces of the plywood so that they overlap on their ends and are supported by a dowel with aluminum spacers on the curved corners. Curved corners allow a tighter turning radius between the wagon cars. A drop-in hitch allows for the use of both or just one of the wagon cars. Orange and aluminum casters and cotton rope are used as hardware.
HEEL HOLSTER Five-week project | Sponsored Studio
OBJECTIVE
McNett Corporation asked us to address urban survival, focusing on the female demographic.
RESEARCH
128.3 Million Americans commute to work
27.4 million within the city
18.2 million from suburban to city (National Household Travel Survey, US DOT, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 2014)
RESEARCH Variety of shoes:
Types of bags carried by commuters:
Shoes and bags of commuters vary greatly in widths and shapes, therefore adjustability is key,
Women commuters often need more than one pair of shoes during their day.
How can an extra pair of shoes be securely carried with an existing bags?
IDEATION
Current solution
MATERIALS Silicone
Grips shoes to assist in security.
Elastic
Stretch accommodates a variety of shoe widths.
Nylon Webbing
Durable and commonly used in strapping.
MODELS Iterations were created, adjusting where the elastic was located and types of buckles used, and then tested.
Silicone top with laser-cut logo Webbing strap Polypropylene for rigidity Silicone bottom stops holster from slipping
Solution diamond Backing The webbing and a
Elastic + Webbing Webbing was used on inside of strap so that elastic would pull buckle to outside of shoe making accessing the buckle easier.
Strap buckle
Large buckle on main strap allowed for ease in fit to different bags.
piece of polypropylene (adds rigidity) is sandwiched between two pieces of silicone, keeping the shoes and Heel Holster from slipping.
pinch buckles
Allowed for the easiest secure and release of shoes.
Webbing Provides more friction, for less slipping and squishing of bag than elastic.
GRANDMOTHERS OF KOCHIA Ethnographic study and photojournalism portrait project
What happens when the middle generation Disappears?
1.1
million
KENYA
children orphaned by AIDS
Kisumu
62
Lake Victoria
Kochia Nairobi
thousand died from AIDSrelated illnesses (2011)
1.6 million
living with HIV
UNGASS (2011)
While working as an intern for WWU Service Learning Program in 2009, I spent three weeks in Kenya documenting future program sites for the international extension of the program. One site was in the community of Kochia, which is greatly affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, had little access to medications and testing, and was affected from stigmas and shame associated with the disease. While there, I met a husband and wife team in the community who ran a non-profit that took in orphans, ran a preschool and provided flour to a number of the elderly in the area. Their program addressed the hole left in many families who lost their middle generation, the parents of the children and offspring of the elderly. The generation that is crucial to the care of the old and young. I joined the couple on their flour distribution route and met and photographed some these women.
Doris Agutu | 79 Agutu came to care for five grandchildren, all under 6 years old, after her five children died. Agutu has a few fruit trees in her yard that provides a small income for her family. The family’s house has two rooms, a living room where the grandchildren sleep, and a kitchen where there is a stove in one corner and Agutu’s bed at the other side, their chickens sleep beneath her bed.
Pirsila Agao | 87 Agao had five children but all but one son had died. That son provides her with water as she is not physically able to haul water and carry it for miles from the lake or river. Agao’s home has no furniture and she sleeps on the ground on top only a small piece of canvas.
Susan Oluoch | 80s Oluoch has very poor eyesight and struggles to walk. All four of her children have died along with her four grandchildren, leaving Oluoch dependent on the kindness of neighbors for food and water. In her hut she has a bed frame, but no mattress, only a woven grass mat.
Helen Maranda | 90s Maranda has had all five of her children died along with their spouses. She has only one grandson left, George Omondi, 26, to assist her. Omondi is a fisherman, providing fish for food but also a source of money. They also earn some money by renting a portion of their land to others for growing crops.
REMADE Five-week project | Sustainability
How can toys be created from commonly discarded materials?
RESEARCH Americans produced
250 million tons of trash in 2011 (EPA)
Materials
Product casings get discarded after the contents they protect and cover are used up. The wire in Ethernet cables can be recycled but the plastic casing is thrown away. Markers are typically thrown out after the ink is dried or gone.
LIFE CYCLE ANALYSIS Raw Materials
Manufacturing
Transport
Oil is processed into plastics. Marker barrel and caps are injection molded from polypropylene. Ink reservoir is made from polyester.
Finished boxes of markers are transported to stores.
Use
Markers are purchased from store and used until they run out of ink or dry up.
Oil is extracted from the earth to make different types of plastic. Cable insulation is extruded from PVC onto copper wire.
Spools of wire are transported to wholesalers. Wire is installed in homes and buildings to connect alarm systems.
The metal copper is mined from the earth for wire.
ReMade Skip intercepts the cable and markers before they are disposed of or recycled and repurposes them into a new, usable jump rope!
The copper wire removed from the cable is recycled. The ink reservoir from the markers is discarded along with the nib.
Disposal
Retail
A local retail store, Ideal - Carefully Curated Goods, assisted the junior class in developing a sellable product (that could be easily reproduced), product pricing, and then sold the ReMade items at their store.
Skip
Skip the landfill!
This made of recycled cable Skipjumprope was sold inisthree colors with recycled packaging. Instructions on how to adjust length ofLength the jump rope were tubing and markerthecasings. on the back. should be adjusted shoulderincluded height of user. To shorten:
1
2
3
Designed by Kathryn Bachen
S K
PREVA PLUS
Seven-week project | In collaboration with Jordan Steranka
Precor challenged WWU juniors to develop fitness solutions in the following areas:
TECHNOLOGY + FITNESS
Examine the current technology offerings and make a recommendation on what Precor should bring to market in three years to create a compelling offering.
OBJECTIVE ACTIVITY + AGING
Identify areas of opportunity for Precor to provide fitness solutions for the baby boomer demographic.
RESEARCH
As a class we spent six weeks researching different aspects of fitness, including, technology, behavior and motivation, history, Baby Boomers, physiology, in order to identify insights and opportunities.
Insights + Opportunities How can
BOOMER HEALTH be directly addressed without labels of aging?
How can fitness
Tracking + MOTIVATION be effortless?
How can the number of How can
GYM ACCESSORIES be reduced?
FUTURE Technology be integrated into fitness?
How can a workout be
PERSONALIZED without the expense of a trainer?
Personas Based on research, opportunities and insights, the following personas were developed:
Drew is a typical college student. He exercises at the University’s gym regularly and gages his fitness by his mile time when he runs.
Desire
Obstacle
Drew is very tech savvy and stays up to date on the newest gadgets through blogs and social media. He would love to purchase some of the new wearable technology to better track his fitness and formulate more diverse workouts.
As a student, Drew is on a tight budget. He sees the rate at which personal technology is outdated and keeps him investing in a wearable to track his fitness.
Theresa
Desire
Obstacle
is a busy wife and mother of two. She is responsible for the majority of the family’s organization and planning.
Theresa’s workout at the gym is her personal time to relax and focus on herself. She wants a simple workout in which she can clear her head and come out of refreshed and ready to once again be the family miracle worker.
Theresa has a lot to remember outside of the gym, so it’s hard for her to remember her gym accessories. She feels her workout is bogged down by keeping track, remembering and packing all these items.
Personas
Judy
Desire
is a Baby Boomer and recent retiree. She is excited for her next chapter of life and new freedom!
Judy’s retirement resolution is to get in shape and follow through with her doctor’s recommendations on diet and exercise. Judy would like to have a personal trainer help her create workouts as she feels uncertain of what exercises to do at the gym.
Obstacle Judy has tried a few health tracking apps, but has gotten frustrated with the amount of information she has to type into them. The suggestions from the apps and magazines she reads feel like they were intended for a younger person.
concepts
How can Precor facilitate a streamlined workout that is tracked without effort and does not impose a direct financial burden on the user?
Technology
Face recognition
Leap Motion: gesture-based control
3-D scanners
We wanted our product to have technology that existed or is on the verge of existing, but had not yet been distributed commercially yet, to make it a viable product of the near future.
PREVA
System
Preva Plus is a fitness information tracking system that is comprised of a transparent OLED screen, 3-D scanner and sensor, and information cloud. The system is installed by a Precor professional on to the existing infrastructure of a gym.
Preva Plus is gesture controlled, which eliminates the need of surface sanitation. Plus also controls the privacy of the information display by limiting the screen visibility through distance and angle.
After the scanner recognizes the user, they are logged in and their personal information is displayed. The user can then review statistics of their fitness and workouts to see progress as well as get workout recommendations.
Interface A 3-D model of the user, created by the scanner allows the user to specify areas of their body they want to improve, or areas of injury they want to avoid in a workout. Due to the personal nature of the information display, the Preva Plus screen limits visibility of the screen by distance and angle.
Once on a Precor cardio machine, facial recognition logs the user into the machine and adjusts the settings to that of the user’s physical proportions, established by the body scanner. Preva Plus then loads the previously chosen workout on to the machine.
While exercising on a machine, Preva Plus transmits the workout information back to the cloud for storage and analysis. Plus allows the user to move seamlessly between cardio machines.
Resume W O R K E XPE R I E N CE ED U C A T ION B.S. Industrial Design
Expected graduation date June 2015 Western Washington University Bellingham, WA
B.A. Visual Journalism
Western Washington University 2009 Bellingham, WA
P ROF I C IE N C Y Model making and prototyping Presentation Research and interviewing Sketching Photography Adobe Photoshop Adobe Illustrator Adobe InDesign
Photo Production Specialist The Seattle Times
Seattle, WA March 2010 | August 2012 In-office support of the photography department. Worked photos for print and curated online galleries. Worked directly with the public and media staff to provide photos. Maintained and created content for department social media and blog. Published weekly reviews of subscriber-submitted photos.
Photo Clerk The Bellingham Herald
Bellingham, WA March 2008 | January 2010 Toned and archived photos, uploaded and published photo galleries to the Bellingham Herald Web site using a site management system, re-printed photos, transmitted photos via FTP site and e-mail, compiled a weekly entertainment calendar and took photographs for the newspaper as assigned.
Multimedia Intern WWU Service Learning Program
Ombogo Girls’ Academy, Kenya July | August 2009 Assisted in building an international extension of Western’s Service Learning Program. Traveled to Kenya with a group of professors and students to document interactions and future project sites previously established by the Slum Doctor Programme, a local nonprofit organization. Provided multimedia and images to Slum Doctor Programme and the Service Learning Center for use in their literature and Web sites.
Adobe After Effects Photo Mechanic Audacity Final Cut Pro Rhinoceros CATIA Microsoft Office
H I GHL I G HTS IDSA member | 2012-present Mt. Baker Plywood Furniture Design Competition, first place | 2013 DWR Champagne Chair Design Competition finalist | 2013 WWU Journalism Department Academic Achievement Award | 2010 Robert Swaille Scholarship | 2009 President of WWU NPPA Student Chapter | 2009 Sports Shooter (photography) Academy VI participant, Irvine, CA | 2009 Vice President of WWU NPPA Student Chapter | 2008-2009
THANK YOU!